Paul East

Paul Clayton East CNZM QC (born 4 August 1946) is a former New Zealand politician of the National Party.

Early life and family

East was educated at King's College, Auckland and the University of Auckland.

Prior to becoming an MP, East was a lawyer and barrister with East Brewster, a Rotorua-based legal firm, from 1973 to 1978. East also enagaged in local politics as a member of the Rotorua City Council, which has now been subsumed into the Rotorua District Council.

East is married and has three daughters.

Member of Parliament

East was first elected to Parliament in the 1978 election as MP for Rotorua, and retained that seat until he opted to become a list MP in the 1996 elections.

East served in a number of ministerial roles, including those of Minister of Defence and Attorney-General in the fourth National government. When Jenny Shipley replaced Jim Bolger as leader of the National Party, East was one of the minority who remained aligned with Bolger.

In the 2005 Queen's Birthday Honours, East was appointed a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to Parliament and the law. He was appointed a member of the Privy Council in 1998. In 1999, he resigned from Parliament to take up the position of New Zealand High Commissioner to the United Kingdom in London. He was replaced in Parliament by Alec Neill, the next candidate on National's party list.